driving with dead cylinder

3937 Views 16 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Mike Gerber, Aug 30, 2010

armaniran

Discussion Starter · Aug 30, 2010

alright so i was changing my spark plugs today and on the last one i put in the spark plug and i was trying to get the plug or wire or w/e i dont know the name back on it and it broke , the plug that plugs to the spark plug broke now i was wondering if i drive it till tom or sometime this week would it damage the engine ? because i dont know if there is a connection or not, so it might be running with 5 cylinders instead of 6, i'm not sure , can anyone help me?

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

carsrus

· #2 · Aug 30, 2010

Id try and get a new wire asap. Take it easy on it and dont drive it much. Unburned fuel = melted cat convertor$$$$$.

If you know how to disconnect the injector you could to that but thats overkill for going out and buying a new wire.

I wouldn't drive it farther then the parts store and install the wire while your there.

fenixus

· #3 · Aug 30, 2010 (Edited)

no big deal. get a new set of plug wires (I understand that a wire plug broke on rear bank, not the coil on front bank?) at either amazon NGK TE65 set of 3 wires ($39 shipped free) or local Advance Auto Parts at like $50+tax.

if the coil on front bank got broken then get the OEM replacement from dealer (online is cheapest way, but need to wait for delivery by UPS).

armaniran

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 30, 2010

would it be bad if i drive it tom ? like would it have any negetive effects? few km to the auto part store

fenixus

· #5 · Aug 30, 2010 (Edited)

armaniran said:
would it be bad if i drive it tom ? like would it have any negetive effects? few km to the auto part store

don't sweat it, a few miles/km won't do any harm, just don't do any crazy long distance driving in such condition

just call them first to make sure they have what you need, to avoid unnecessary driving

armaniran

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 30, 2010

alright man thanks for the help, i'm just hoping that the plastic peice that broke didnt fall in the hole of the sparkplug cuz that would suck i would have no idea how to take it out.

fenixus

· #7 · Aug 30, 2010 (Edited)

armaniran said:
alright man thanks for the help, i'm just hoping that the plastic peice that broke didnt fall in the hole of the sparkplug cuz that would suck i would have no idea how to take it out.

if anything fell into there you might need to blow it out (with spark plug still installed of course) with a compressed air or pick it with some long needle nose pliers.

though i can imagine it is a pain to see anything back there (rear bank by firewall is what we are talking about, right?) you would probably need to use a flashlight and a mirror just to take a look. but hey if you unplug 2 of wires (including the broken one) and compare them you will have an idea if you pulled everything out or not.

armaniran

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 30, 2010

well like half of it broke like half from the side you know, i found a small peice but not all of it , but blowin it out isent a bad idea i dont have an air compressor or anything like that but those computer air things might just work i'm gonna go get the wire tom and see if it well go in , if not then i'm going to have to get the air but i hope it doesnt come to that, yeah it the back by the firewall , such a hard and crammed place to do anything, toyota was deffintly not thinking about easy access to the engine parts when they made the car.

fenixus

· #9 · Aug 30, 2010 (Edited)

right ... when i wrote about long needle nsoe pliers I was somehow thinking about deep wells of 5s-fe ... rear bank of 1mz-fe is an access tragedy. you might need to unbolt the whole intake manifold to get access to it if anything got stuck down there...

how did you manage to replace spark plugs with the intake manifold in place (1mz-fe engine, right?) ?
asking cause i got 1mz-fe since recently and haven't done that yet, it looks like a thrilling experience hehe

armaniran

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 30, 2010

lol no i have the 1992 camry le, its the 3mz i belive or something 3 something, not 1 , but yeah it was a bitch, the front ones were easy but the back ones were the worst, especially the last one thats the one i broke i was tired and i just wanted to get it in there and shoved and snaped it

fenixus

· #11 · Aug 30, 2010

armaniran said:
lol no i have the 1992 camry le, its the 3mz i belive or something 3 something, not 1 , but yeah it was a bitch, the front ones were easy but the back ones were the worst, especially the last one thats the one i broke i was tired and i just wanted to get it in there and shoved and snaped it

ah, right! the 3vz-fe ?

yeah, 1mz-fe seems like the hardest one for "simple" spark plugs replacement hehe ... will probably postpone it until Spring or so hehe

armaniran

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 30, 2010

yeah lol what type of camry is the 1mz-fe on? pick up a haynes book, soo helpfull

fenixus

· #13 · Aug 30, 2010

armaniran said:
yeah lol what type of camry is the 1mz-fe on? pick up a haynes book, soo helpfull

I've got haynes for gen4 (camry and similar avalon/lexus/solara), used it a lot for my 5s-fe

it covers 1mz-fe as well. just some instructions are pretty blatant with no pics.

this works good too:
http://www.camrystuff.com/

for your gen3 this one is good too:
http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/

fenixus

· #14 · Aug 30, 2010 (Edited)

also, considering you have a different engine i thought then disregard the NGK model for wires I posted.
the correct one would be ('92 3vz-fe):
NGK TE42

ahhh, you have 6 spark plug wires! unlike the 1mz which has 3 ignition coils on top of front bank plugs and just 3 wires for the rear bank

here is what you need, will be more expensive (6 wires in a set):
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/NGK-TE42-Wire-Set/dp/B000C5M2AO[/ame]
$64 shipped free from amazon

or

some local store. do you have Advance Auto Parts in Canada ?

call the store ahead to make sure they have the NGK wires for your car. it's the cheapest OEM you can get. Denso (these are factory OEM) are good too, but much more expensive, especially if you buy them from the dealer.

don't get OE fit Bosch or Duralast wires for the camry, they don't do so well...

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fenixus

· #15 · Aug 30, 2010 (Edited)

in case you need to get the whole OEM wireset (they should be all replaced at same time), for 3vz-fe '92 camry:
90919-21519 CORD SET, COIL AND SPARK, W/RESISTIVE (new current part number 90919-21607)
$231.52 MSRP

however from the dealer you can actually buy just one wire which got broken and make it a "cheap" fix.
from your description (depending on where you were standing) last one on rear bank is either :

a) first from passenger side (rear bank):
90919-15173 CORD SPARK PLUG RESISTIVE NO.1 (new current part number 90919-15518)
$35.98 MSRP

or
b) first from the driver side (rear bank):
90919-15175 CORD SPARK PLUG RESISTIVE NO.5 (new current part number 90919-15520)
$35.98 MSRP

rear bank cylinders/plugs are numbered 1, 3 & 5 from passenger side to driver side.

you can check those for yourself at:
www.toyodiy.com/parts
give it your car's VIN number for best match,

good luck whatever route you choose to fix your ride!

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armaniran

Discussion Starter · #16 · Aug 30, 2010

yeah i gotta go to lordco which is the auto part store in canada,bc
and they should have it , but i wonder if i can get just one wire of if i have to get the set.

Mike Gerber

· #17 · Aug 30, 2010

I believe NAPA sells individual wires under their ECHLIN name, or at least they did some years ago. I don't know if you have NAPA in Canada. If the wires are old (and they may be considering the way that one broke), I would replace the whole set as soon as you can with Denso or NGK wires.

As far as driving the car, I wouldn't. Like Carsrus said, it won't be good for your catalytic converter. Unburned fuel from that non-firing cylinder will go out that cylinder's exhaust valve and down the exhaust system. That means raw fuel is going through the converter. You don't want to turn a cheap fix in to an expensive one and wind up having to replace the converter. Make a few phone calls in your area to locate the wires or wires you need, and then get someone to drive you there, or borrow a car, or ride a bicycle. Just my 2 cents.

Mike

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